Demolished Beach Bar Owners, Workers Appeal to Government

By Muhammed Sailu BahYoung people who were operating beach bars for the tourists betweenBijilo and Brufut on the Tourism Development Area (TDA) are calling onthe authorities to reverse the recent decision that ordered for thedemolition of their structures along the beach.This appeal is coming in the wake of the demolition exercise carriedout on Saturday, 13 June 2015, by the Gambia Tourism Board (GTBoard),in close collaboration with the Department of Physical Planning underthe Ministry of Local Government and Lands, removing all thestructures or beach bars in the said area.When this reporter visited the said area yesterday to find out how theexercise ended and what impact it has on the said operators, he wastold that many young people who were self-employed have now beenaffected and rendered jobless by the demolition which razed theirstructures to the ground. The owners of the demolished structures wereseen busy picking up the dismantled and broken pieces of woodenboards, planks, furniture, iron rods, etc. left strewn on the beach.Speaking to Alieu Jallow, one of the young men working in thedemolished beach bars, he said this move by the authorities has nowleft him without a legitimate means of earning income to supporthimself and his family.Jallow said more than one hundred young people have been benefitingfrom beach bars through the income they earn as owners, workers orcustomers bringing in tourists. “Young people who are unemployed anddo not want to engage in crime often come to the beach to earn aliving through the services of the beach bars,” he said, adding “ifthe government had weighed the advantages and disadvantages beforedemolishing the bars they would not have done so as it does not servethe interest of many young people.”He revealed that more than 15 structures have been demolished andwhich include the White Vision Bar, Villagers’ Bar, Bambo, Ocean Blue,Pelican, Jamaican, Sibis, Taste of Ocean, to name a few.“All these beach bars are owned by young Gambians who are sponsored bytheir tourist friends to engage and earn income for doing a decent work,” heexplained.Lamin Darboe, another worker, said “the government is trying todiscourage young people from travelling to Europe through the ‘Backway’ (irregular migration) and yet they are preventing those who havedecided to stay from doing work at home to earn a living. This is acontradiction.”Darboe said the beach bars have been playing a very important role inserving as rendezvous for prospective sponsors of individuals andcommunities needing help from philanthropists. “The scholarships formany students and the services and facilities benefiting numerousschools and communities have emanated from links developed by youngpeople working in or frequenting beach bars,” he revealed.He said the incident has devastated many of them as their only sourceof earning is now denied them.“Most of us are dependables who are supporting large families at homeas well as the education of our siblings and children,” he added.Basirou Bojang, a beach bar operator, said their operations are notonly benefiting the young people working at the beach but also fruitsellers, including the women in the local markets who supply them theproduce.“We are also contributing positively in sustaining the environment atthe beach by planting trees, such as coconut trees, oranges andeven flowers to beautify the place,” he added.According to Mr. Bojang, they were given a very short notice by theauthorities and that there was no time for a dialogue to resolve theissue.“The demolition team did not even allow us to remove our materials andfurniture which were destroyed in the exercise,” he said.He appealed to the government to help them as young people to continuewith their businesses.